Nirvana fallacy
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The Nirvana fallacy or perfect solution fallacy is a logical fallacy in which one imagines a perfect solution exists, and rejects realistic answers in favour of it. Since this ideal state is simply assumed, it is a form of begging the question.
[edit] Form
"The problem X has a perfect solution, A."
Usually the continuation will be the rejection of realistic solutions B, C and D because they are inferior to the idealised A.
[edit] Examples
- The argument that abstinence is a perfect form of contraception ignores that most people might actually want to have sex while using the contraception, and therefore assumes a perfect solution. This argument is usually used to reject condoms because they "only" have a 99% rate of preventing pregnancy.
- The anti-science argument "science does not know everything about X, therefore it is worthless compared to some pseudoscience which claims it does."
- The more woo-prone parts of the environmentalist movement often fall prey to assuming that reducing pollution is worthless, favouring an idealised state where there is no pollution at all.
- Proclaiming that any medication that has side effects is worthless, or that any treatment less than 100% effective is a waste of time. Also often used by medical quacks who will argue that treatment to mitigate symptoms is pointless because it is not a cure.
- Chemophobic arguments based on exposure levels which assume any exposure is unacceptable, regardless of whether there is any meaningful risk to health.
- Mental illness denial based on the argument that since we don't fully understand the causes of mental illness or how exactly the treatments for it work, mental illness therefore must not be real and the treatments must be ineffective and dangerous. Often this argument will refer to historical examples of psychiatric treatments that did more harm than good (lobotomy, for example) or unsubstantiated claims such as that SSRIs cause homicide ideation and are responsible for mass shootings.